The concrete base of the statue of the college's founder, S. Peter Pryor, needs to be replaced. As such, the college believes it would be a good opportunity to place a time capsule under the base to be opened in hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. Each student is to bring items he or she feels is representative of the time and place, with Dean Magruder making the final choice of what will be placed in the capsule. While students like Dobie and Zelda try to decide what they will contribute, Maynard refuses to participate, as he is convinced that there is no future for human civilization. Maynard ends up having a moral dilemma in what to do with his life as if there is no future, should he have a conscience? A time capsule may provide Maynard with the answers for which he is looking.
—Huggo